Part-Time Sidekicks
by Imyoshi
Summary: Different world—different set of rules—still the same old sidekicks.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Kim Possible.

 **Part-Time Sidekicks**

 **By: Imyoshi**

And the day had started off so well too.

Why? Why did she always go along his half brained schemes? Didn't the warning lights in her head go off any time when Drakken was explaining his foolproof plan to her? Crossing dimensions! Playing with mad technology! Messing with the fabric of reality—yadda, yadda. Seriously, sometimes Shego wondered who actually deserved the fault sometimes. Because it was starting to look like she _was_ for always following along Drakken's idiotic plans.

Crossing the wavelengths of the Pan Dimensional Vortex Inducer plus the Dimensional Compiler couldn't even begin to spell out the world of trouble that the idea had.

For a so called genius, Drakken could be pretty damn stupid.

Now holding on to her life, or at least she presumed that's what was at stake, Shego had her catlike claws embedded into the floor of the lair as high velocity winds sucked and threatened to consume her and what she could see, Team Possible whole. The maddening vortex Drakken opened by accident didn't even seem to be letting down either.

It just continued to pull them in.

And judging by the way her grip seemed to be. Shego knew she had little time left.

Sighing for the last time, her eyes scanned towards where Drakken was, in his control room, tinkering with the controls and what she figured a feeble attempt to stop the madness. At least the guy seemed to care. That's a plus, somewhat. She then eyed Kimmie and the sidekick as the grappling hair dryer seemed to be the only thing keeping them safe at the moment.

Shego momentarily pouted, angry.

 _Crack_

Hearing the pavement giving way, Shego at one last attempt tried to claw forward.

 _Crack_

It was a futile effort, she knew.

 _Crack_

But damn it to hell, she'll go down fighting!

 _Break_

Having lost her grip, her mind raced as she felt her body advanced towards the portal. Thoughts and memories came and gone, but one thing remained true. Shego was evil—plain and simple. And if she is going to go down into an unknown vortex of doom, she'll damn hell make sure to take someone with her.

Not thinking too hard on it, her hand lit ablaze as she aimed at the grappling that the teens held onto. Her smirk immediately formed and she hurled her plasma at them. Didn't matter which one it hit... as long as it _hit_ one. Just one.

"See you on the flipside!" Shego taunted, the vortex swallowing her.

And that's when Ron saw the plasma coming towards them, towards him. And he knew he couldn't dodge it. Instinct took over before Ron knew what was happening and let go of the rope. He quickly tossed Rufus over to Kim, already drowning out her screams of disbelief, and dodging Shego's attack. Ron watched as Kim's face scrunched up in sadness.

He hated that look.

"Later KP," Ron grinned more for her than himself.

The vortex then swallowed Ron and shrank into nothing. Vortex gone, the lair started to collapse around Kim. And the hero girl barely made it out before the entire ceiling collapsed on the mad machine that pulled in Ron and Shego.

Kim couldn't have reached for her kimmunicator fast enough.

...

They couldn't see. It was dark. And they lost track of time.

Time passed differently in the vortex. Ron and Shego didn't know whether if a minute or hour passed. All they could do at the moment was feel and Shego and Ron didn't know exactly how to describe what they were feeling. At some point it felt as if their molecules were getting torn apart. Then it would go to light nothingness. Then back to feeling the molecule pain again. Either way, neither of them could speak. Their voices were muffled in the vortex. And they couldn't move.

Nothing—the two sidekicks could do nothing.

Distracted by everything, Ron's mystical monkey power exhausted itself while trying to hold him together and even Shego's comet power was quickly burning itself out together along his.

That tearing molecule induced pain was in fact such. Any other person would've died already in the vortex. Their powers were the only thing keeping them together, alive. And none of them would ever realize how truly grateful they were to have them as they burned away.

Finally the pain stopped after what seemed like forever, and the sidekicks allowed themselves to relax, hurting still. They barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief when a light in the distance caught their attention. Whatever the light was, it was closing in fast. Shego barely had time to look at Ron's scared face before the light surrounded them and she would admit, she too was afraid.

...

 _Drip, drip, drip_

Light drips of water were hitting her face, slowly waking Shego up from unconsciousness. Groaning, she slowly sat up, her body still hurting immensely. The water continued to rain down. Luckily for her, it was a light rain, but a rain nevertheless and Shego didn't feel like getting a cold anytime soon. She practically had to force herself to sit, gripping her side stubbornly. Every part of her felt sore and her wet hair was starting to get in her eyes.

When she finally sat up, her eyes slightly narrowed, she felt different. Not herself.

"Uh... I hate the rain." a voice behind her called out. "It's always so wet."

Turning around, Shego pushed her thoughts back. Different can wait.

Across from her, Ron was trying to sit up, clearly in pain as well. She stared at him for quite a bit, watching as the rain damped his body. When he finally sat up, Ron looked around, pushing his wet hair back.

"Where are we?"

A good question.

Wanting an answer, she looked around and found only grass and a few trees close by. There seemed to be a wall off to the far corner, but that's all she could see thanks to a thick fog. The clouds of course were gray thanks to the rain which had been steadily picking up, blurring her vision.

"Beats me, Stoppable," she slowly answered, finally getting up.

"Shego!" Ron yelled, surprised.

He stared at her wide eyed, not expecting her of all people to answer and Shego still found the energy in her to smirk at the panic sound of his voice. She loved bringing the fear out of people.

"The one and only," she taunted, flipping back her wet hair. "Try not to wear my name out."

Panic dying, Ron sighed, finally getting up as well. The pain in their bodies seemed to be going away and neither wanted to stay in the rain anymore. Besides, Ron couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt different—way different.

And he felt relieved. It didn't seem that Shego wanted to fight at the moment. But that relief was very short lived as more rain pelted down on him.

"Great," Ron started. "We don't know where we are, it's cold and I'm wet."

Shego merely rolled her eyes, "Calm down sidekick. Don't go all Drakken on me. Just call that nerd you and princess always talk to. I'm pretty sure he knows where we're at."

Stunned, Ron eventually grinned at her, "You're right! I'm pretty sure Wade can track us."

"Doy."

Shego watched as the sidekick searched his pockets for the kimmunicator, stopping every second to wipe his hair away from his face. She couldn't help but do another eye roll before dragging him angrily to one of the trees close by. Ron grinned at her as thanks, but she glared back.

Besides, Shego was all too happy to get out of the rain.

Finally Ron found his kimmunicator and tried to contact Wade. The way his face went from eagerness to a slight panic set Shego off. Her stomach clenched a bit at his repeated button mashing. And then her stomach churned when she heard the tale-tale sounds of static. Ron eventually stopped playing with the device and stared at her, trying to smile.

"Hehe, it's not working."

"Are you sure," she doubted.

Ron pushed each button once to show her nothing but a signal searching screen coming up over and over again.

He was sure and that only got Shego mad.

Turning towards the tree to not attack Ron, she prepared to burn off her frustrations. Imagine her surprise when her hand wouldn't light up with plasma. Not even a single burst of flame came forth. Shego couldn't even feel any warmth coming from her hand. No heat. No pulse. No power. No nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Staring at her hand in disbelief, she didn't notice that Ron was gazing harder at her now, the rain no longer in his eyes, nor did she notice he stepped closer towards her. All she did was try not to panic.

"Shego?"

She turned to see the worried face of the sidekick. His eyes seemed to be concentrating harder on her for some reason and he even seemed a little more tentative than usual. Her eyes screamed out _what_ and Ron found the courage to step forward again. He hesitantly held out the kimmunicator towards her.

"Your skin, Shego," Ron breathed. "It's barely green anymore."

Now she began to panic.

"Gimmie that!" she swiped the kimmunicator from his hands.

Staring at the reflective screen, right away she got what he meant. Ron was right. Her skin barely had any of her previous green glow. She almost looked very pale if anything else. There was still green somewhere in there and her eyes still had their greenish shine. But damn it! This is _not_ her skin color.

It's not.

Slowly, she gently touched her face, running her fingers down her cheek. Her panic out of nowhere quickly turned to anger and this time Shego did hit the tree with full force—barely causing a dent in the bark.

Her hand hurt.

It wasn't supposed to hurt.

Shego's eyes narrowed. Her attack seemed too light and slow for her liking and now she was beginning to notice she felt a little heavier. Her hand was hurting and her plasma gone. If there was ever a time for her to freak out, now would be the time.

Instead she chose to remain silent.

And for a while both the sidekicks stood there, the rain the only sound to keep them company. Ron could only stare at Shego who had her head down, her wet hair hiding her face. Shego on the other hand kept grinding her teeth, thinking. Her arm started shaking to keep itself up.

Soon her hand slowly fell away from the bark, and she tossed Ron back the kimmunicator without so much as a word.

Ron didn't even catch it on time.

The silence between them eventually died when Ron pointed towards the direction of the wall.

"Hey," he tried to lighten the mood. "Why don't we go see where we're at? Maybe someone could help us?"

If she heard him, she didn't say anything.

Out of options for now, Shego sighed. She flipped her hair back to avoid anymore in her face and decided to humor the sidekick. Ron tried to give her a smile, but one glare stopped that.

Walking out in the rain again, Ron noticed his steps seemed sluggish. His body didn't move as fast it normally did and he was pretty sure Shego was on the same boat. Even he saw how sad her last attack was on that poor unsuspecting tree. Hell, that tree won the fight.

"Where do you think we are?" Ron asked, staring off to the side.

Slowly they could make out a brick wall past the fog. It wasn't very tall. More like just for design over use if anything. They still couldn't see over it, but a brick wall meant someone had to have built it.

Shego pouted in response, "If we're lucky. In a town."

Having reached the brick wall and both of them accustom to sneaking around, they tried to jump over the ledge. The running start proved useless as neither of them got more than a foot off the ground. They hit the wall hard before falling back down to a muddy floor.

Ron was the first to get up, rubbing his head in pain.

"Ow," he moaned. "What just happened?"

"I liked to know that too." Shego agreed, getting up and moving to go check the wall.

She trailed her fingers down it and found nothing special about it. It was just a simple brick wall. Glaring, Shego tried to jump towards the edge when the problem came back. At first she ignored it, trying to jump over. It didn't work.

And it wasn't the wall.

"Stoppable!" Ron looked over to a jumping Shego.

"What are you—?"

"Just shut up and try jumping as high as you can!" she cut in. Ron stared for a minute before joining in.

Neither of them got more than a foot off the ground.

Getting tired way too quickly, they stopped. The rain was hitting harder down now much to their dismay.

"You noticed it too right?" Of course Ron noticed it.

"Yea, this is getting kinda freaky."

Shego looked towards the _now_ tall looking wall. Something wasn't right here. The gravity she assumed was much stronger here, wherever here was and she felt slower, much slower. That running start they had was just pathetic. And it's not just her, she's pretty sure Stoppable noticed as well.

Her powers were gone and Ron couldn't contact their nerd friend for help. It was raining down hard on them. Freaky was definitely a good place to start.

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

...

It took them the better part of an hour of following the wall to find the entrance. They would've found it sooner, but Ron's initial panic kicked in sometime between half an hour and and a little after that. And it took Shego a bit of non-comforting words and occasional hit to slap some confidence back into him.

Shego wasn't going to admit it, but she was scared.

And she needed Ron for she had a sneaky suspicion that they weren't exactly home anymore. That, or the vortex really messed them up somehow and she needed that nerd's help to fix them. Either way, Stoppable was to _not_ leave her field of vision anytime soon.

"So," Ron trailed, staring at a sign. "We were in a park the entire time?"

Shego remained impassive. It didn't matter if they were in a park. Ok, maybe it did. At least she knew they were somewhere that had civilization, but that didn't explain in the least of their lack of skills. She was glad that at least the rain stopped. Sure they were still wet, but damn it, she needed to find something good to hold onto.

"Looks like it," she finally answered.

Turning around, the fog started to clear up and she could make out the outlines of buildings a couple of hundred feet ahead of them. The sky around them had darkened.

"So what now?" Ron asked.

"We go find the nearest newspaper stand," when he didn't ask why, Shego added. "So we could figure out exactly where we are."

She walked off and Ron having no better option, followed. Apparently Shego's done something like this before. He guessed being on the run a lot from the law would do that to a person.

Ron suddenly pointed out in the distance.

"Hey look! There's other people!"

He was right.

Finally they reached other people bustling along in rain cloaks and such, going along their merry way. Some happened to be on phones, others subtly stared at the two covered in water, but most passed them without much of a glance. Basically everyday normal people.

Neither of the sidekicks noticed they felt a calming weight being tossed off their chest.

Seeing other people felt good.

"I think I'm gonna go ask them where I can find a newspaper?" Ron pointed at a passing nearby couple.

"Yea, you go do that. I'll be here," Shego shrugged. "Don't take too long!"

If only Shego could've seen the sidekick roll his eyes, she might have smirked at him.

A few minutes later, Ron came back running towards her, grinning and all.

"They said down the block is where we'll find one," he pointed towards the direction they gave him.

She nodded and followed the direction the couple gave them. During the walk, the sidekicks noticed the buildings seemed to be compacted together, open late, very businesslike. Most likely or not they happened to be in the busy section of the town they found themselves at.

They continued to walk forward towards the news stand when Shego nudged Ron in the ribs. He looked over to see her mouth out _keep walking_ before agreeing to play along. An angry Shego was not something he wanted to deal with at the moment.

Passing the newsstand, Ron ignored the way the man stared at them. Probably had something to do with the way they were dressed. Who could blame him? You don't see many jumpsuit, mission outfit wearing people that much normally anyways.

Half a block away, Shego opened the newspaper she stole. Her eyes scanned over the words at every corner.

"Shego," Ron paused, looking confused. "Where did you get that newspaper?"

"I took it," she answered simply.

"Without paying?"

"No, I put it on my tab... of course I took it without paying!" she flicked him on the head. "Don't be stupid."

Ron grumbled something unintelligible under his breath and Shego didn't have the tendency to care. She looked over the date and found nothing scary about it. The words were in English and the stories as garbage as any other newspaper would print.

But she felt that she had over looked something important.

"Hey," Ron wondered. "I've never heard of Yono before?

"What," Shego turned over to glare at him. "What are you talking about? What the hell is Yono?"

He pointed at the newspaper headline, the name of the country that the printed newspaper was for. Shego's eyes narrowed a bit more as she couldn't recall _any_ country being called Yono. In fact, she knew damn well that there was no country called Yono.

Folding the newspaper up at coming to a frightening conclusion, Shego pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to dear whatever it was that she was wrong. Dead, dead, wrong.

Ron could watch as she just stood there, quiet. Eventually she breathed and looked at him, face hard.

"A bank."

"What?" Ron asked, lost.

"A bank," she repeated. "We need to find a bank, now."

It wasn't up to debate and after asking a random person passing them in the streets, they soon found themselves in front of a bank. Ron hadn't asked any questions the entire way, something she was a bit grateful for. Their clothes had dried half way between wet and dry. And Shego was starting to feel a bit self conscious at all the people openly staring at them as they passed them in the streets.

The sidekick however didn't seem to care.

"So what are doing at a bank, Shego?" Ron asked her, hands in his pocket.

She didn't answer—Shego couldn't. This bank. This place! She's never heard of it. Never ever even seen it before. And in her profession, that's not a good thing. Shego's been around the world more times than she could count. She's seen the good and bad of society. Traveled to towns not on any maps and even opened up many fake names for herself.

And right now, none of that mattered anymore.

"Shego?"

For the first time in years she felt like crying.

Why did the princess's sidekick have to be so dense sometimes? And why did it seem so unfair too.

Why couldn't he see the big picture?

"Don't you get it?" she whispered, like she couldn't believe even her own words. Ron still took a step back, "Drakken screwed us over. His stupid invention or whatever sent us somewhere. Where? I don't know. But I can tell you this... it's not home."

Ron didn't know how to react. Maybe pity? It could be a good place start as he watched Shego fall into a familiar battle stance to unleash some pent up fury, only to be reminded she couldn't ignite her hands. Don't get him wrong, he heard the words she said. Even they hit him dead center.

It must be his kind nature getting to him again, but Ron didn't like to see people sad. Even if it was Shego and even if she didn't exactly look sad. Ron knew she was hurting inside.

"Hey," Ron stepped forward, giving her his best smile as she stared at the ground, shaking. "We'll find a way out of this."

From the looks of it, she didn't believe him.

"Oh give it a rest, Stoppable," she grumbled, arms totally crossed. "We are trapped."

"So," he countered. "I've been in many traps before and look at me, totally fine still." Shego didn't share in his enthusiasm, so it was time for a different approach. "C'mon, we can't just give up!"

"Oh yea," she challenged. "If your nerdy friend can't even find us, then what hope do we have?"

Ron stopped, hating how her words affected him. But she had one hell of a point.

If Wade couldn't reach him by the kimmunicator, the smartest guy on their planet, then what _chance_ did they have? Ron didn't even want to think about the numbers anymore. Math was never his best subject anyways.

"We can't just give up," he says weakly. It's all he's got.

Shego didn't know why she felt a little guilty, thought to have squashed that emotion a long time ago, but she was. Here she was yelling at the poor sidekick who was only trying to lift her spirits. And judging by the sitch they currently found themselves in, Shego already knew that Ron was probably the _only_ familiar face she had left here.

Sighing for who knows what number today, she finds herself pushing her hair back.

"Maybe you're right?" Shego agrees somewhat. "But I'm not seeing much of a chance here."

"It's better than nothing," he grins and Shego smirks lightly in response.

They stand there, watching a few cars pass by. The sky was only getting darker and judging by the time on a nearby street clock, it's close to 7. Ron quietly runs his hand through his hair, staring wide eyed at her.

"So what now?"

That's a _very_ good question.

Stoppable is on a roll with those.

Thinking, Shego glares off in the distance, trying to remember sitches that somewhat resemble scenarios like this. They don't even come close, but it's better than nothing.

Gotta start somewhere.

And thanks to past experiences, she has a good idea where to start.

"Can you connect that kimmunicator of yours to a computer?" she finally asks.

Ron grins in response and searches his pockets, "I should have a wire on me somewhere... here it is!"

Shego smirks a little. It's a start.

"C'mon," she walks off. "We gotta find the nearest library. We can connect the kimmunicator into one of the computers they have there."

"Uh, we better hurry then, the kimmunicator doesn't have that much battery!" Ron tells her, turning off the device.

"Can't you charge it?"

"No," he answers sadly. "The kimmunicator takes a special type of battery that last for years." Ron looks at the device. "I think that portal we went through burned it out?"

 _Tch_

"Then let's hurry it up, Stoppable!"

...

More asking of random people later and before long, Ron and Shego enter a public library. Luckily they made it an hour before it closed.

Choosing a computer farthest away from prying eyes, Shego leads Ron into a corner. They don't have a library card, but Shego figures if the kimmunicator is all it's cracked up to be, they won't need one.

Plugging the device in, they wait for the kimmunicator to connect and luck would have it, it did. Shego immediately goes to work, using the super computer to hack into government records. The place may be different, but the technology was overall still the same.

"What are you doing?"

Not taking her eyes off the screen or the battery gauge either, Shego continues to hack the system.

"Making us some ID cards, putting some of our info and fake info into the system," she comments offhandedly. "And trying to get us the proper certificates of residence we need."

"You could do that from right here?"

"No," she answers. "We still need to go to a ward office to pick them up. It'll just be easier if we have _proof_ that we live here. I'm changing some details too. Like for instance," she smirks. "You're no longer 17. Congrats, sidekick, you just became 19."

"What?" Ron cries. "And why would you do that?"

She actually stops hacking to turn, rest her arm on the back of the chair, and stare at him with the most nonchalant gaze he's ever seen.

"You want to go back to high school?"

The blood in his veins runs cold at the thought of entering a high school this late. Hell, just the thought of going to high school period make him want throw up. Shego doesn't even have to move as Ron moves her himself, adding a light massage to her shoulders.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Shego!" Ron nervously grins. "Get to hacking."

Of course he could see that smirk of hers and of course he did nothing about it either.

 _Beep_

Ron's grin melts as he hears that sound. He frowns at the familiar noise.

"You better hurry up, Shego," Ron quickly says. "The kimmunicator is going to die soon."

She figured that and kept on going. Adding as much possible information about them—good _fake_ information. She even goes as far as to make them library profiles. Something relatively simple as 1-2-3 for the passwords and using their own names for the usernames. Having a library account could only benefit them at the moment.

She finishes just as the devices goes dead and Shego sighs in relief and falls back into the chair, legs out and arms resting on the arm rest.

Ron grabs the chair next to him and waits for her to say something. A few minutes in, she does. For a split moment there's a smile on her face before it turns into her smirk and Ron wonders if it was even there to begin with.

"I finished it," she sits up on her chair, logging into the computer. "I put enough fake info to get us started. Your login is your name and the password is 1-2-3."

Ron stares down at the dead kimmunicator he's holding. "So what do we do now?"

"For now," she shrugs, opening up a web browser. "I'm going to search up this world we are in. You do the same. We'll go pick up our IDs later."

Ron doesn't see a reason to argue and gets right to it. He quickly logs in and opens something called Firewolf considering all the other folders didn't seem like internet browsers. He quickly tries to access the one website that means anything to him—Kim's website

And the search bar comes up with nothing. Depressed, Ron fights the urge to bang his head against the desk. Then it hits him. He looks up for just Kim Possible, but again nothing. Then for Possible family name, but the same results come up. Even his own family name is gone in this world.

Heck, Middleton wasn't even listed as a known place. Neither was Smarty Mart or Bueno Nacho.

"Ok," Ron thought. "No need to panic. So my family or KP's really don't exist here. There's no Bueno Nacho or even a Smarty Mart. It's just me and Shego here."

The thought of it just being them seem to finally hit Ron and he has slight trouble breathing. He gets over it quickly enough, having been use to weird sitches already, but this one still takes the naco.

Different worlds, _heh_ , go figure.

Looking over, Ron can see that Shego was busy, her eyes glued to the screen as her fingers typed away furiously at the keyboard. She seemed totally focused. On what... don't ask him.

Looking back at his screen, Ron glared. Horrible sitch or not, he couldn't give up. He needed to find a way back home and in order to do that, Ron needed to learn more about this world. Maybe he could look up some famous heroes and get them to help?

It seemed like a good plan.

Of course his plan totally backfired when all the searches for heroes came up with games and comics. He tried to find info on current real life heroes, but they all came up dead. It was almost as if the concept of heroes or even super villains for that matter didn't exist at all, except in people's imagination.

Shocked at what he found, Ron thought hard.

They couldn't jump over a simple 8 foot wall. All their movements seemed slowed to an excessive point. Shego didn't have her normal strength. No heroes or super villains existed here. And people stared at them funny for the outfits they wore.

Ok that last one didn't count, but the other ones totally did.

And when he finally reached his conclusion, Ron does bang his head onto the desk.

"What's wrong with you?"

He turned his head over to see Shego barely passing him a glance.

"I just found out this world doesn't have any heroes," Ron answered, sitting up again. "No heroes. No villains... no mad scientist or anything. Everyone here is just normal."

Her fingers stopped typing at an audible click. The words taking their time to sink in and when they did, her hands slowly formed tight fist.

 _A world without heroes or villains?_

It's a long time before either of them says a word to each other, but Shego's the first to speak.

"You're not lying are you?" she doesn't even need to look over to know the answer. "Damn, I'll be honest. I was kinda hoping on some mad scientist to get us out of this mess."

Ron laughed a bit, having been in a similar mindset.

Shego finally opened the fists she formed and turned to look at him, slightly calm.

"Well, I learned a little too while we're at it. Look at this," she points at the screen and Ron looks over to see a miss matched of continents surrounded by multiple oceans. "This is what the Earth currently looks like here, you know, compared to ours. And this," she points at an island far from the other continents, "is where we are at. An island called Yono."

"After going through what this island is known for, toys, games, and such," she continues. "I say we practically landed in the Japan of their world."

"Japan?" Ron repeats.

She nods, "Yea, I'm just going to call this place Japan."

"Did you learn anything else?"

Shego pushes her chair back, kicking her feet up, and folds her head behind her back. She stares at Ron almost totally uninterested, but the sidekick could see a sadistic gleam in her eyes.

"Yea, I did," she smirks lazily. "How much money do you have on you?"

"Huh?"

...

Walking out in some more comfortable and less attention grabbing clothing, the sidekicks stepped out of Club Orange, dressed to laze around. Luckily for them, money seemed to be the same here, small differences existing here and there, but not enough to see unless if you specially are looking for them.

"I hate you so much right." Ron seethed, dressed in his new red shirt and combo pants and holding all the bags.

"Good, you should hate me." Shego grinned.

Ron didn't know why, but that grin of hers was wrong. Way wrong. So wrong that it sent him bad road signs every second.

A grinning Shego actually seemed more like a slap to the face than a smirking one.

Somehow it pulled together the power of a smirk, the superiority of a mock, an innocent smile that he wouldn't believe in a million years, and even the force of her eye rolls all in one.

"C'mon, Stoppable!" Shego yelled. "We still need to go get our ids before the ward office closes."

Ron sighed; at least she was in a good mood. Clothes always did that to woman, especially if they came out _someone_ else's wallet.

Glaring, he ran to catch up with her.

...

Exiting out the ward office after waiting several pain staking minutes of hoping for the paper work to go through, they stepped out with their new IDs. Since no one else even came close to having names similar to Shelia Go and Ron Stoppable, Shego had decided not to change their names in the system.

Next on their stop was the estate agency.

Ron was about to ask how they could even afford a down payment on any place when Shego produced many wallets from the Club Orange bag on the way there.

Ron could only stare in complete amazement as she took the wads of cash out of each and every one of them, before tossing them carelessly into a nearby trash bin.

Normally pick pocketing is an easy thing for Shego to do, but in reality, picking someone's pocket in this world had required a lot of effort. Her reflexives just weren't there. And she doubted she would've gotten any if the sidekick hadn't tripped on a clothes rack in Club Orange, attracting a crowd of people to laugh at him.

Laughing people tended to not keep track of their personal surroundings, too focused on the objects of their amusement.

Ha! Poor suckers!

"Shego?" Ron called.

Shego stopped to look at Ron's unusual pained face. Her eyes scrunched up into a look of small annoyance as she rested her hand on her hip.

"What is it, Stoppable? The agency is going to close soon if we don't hurry it up."

"Well, I was wondering," her brows rose. "Are we, you know, moving in together or living in separate buildings?"

Her look of annoyance ceased and she actually had the audacity to remain calm at his worried tone. Before Ron could even figure out what was happening, she hit in on the back of the head, like he said something completely idiotic.

"Didn't I tell you already to stop being stupid, Stoppable?" she demanded. "Of course we're moving in together! I gotta keep my eye on you and make sure you don't blow our cover. We are not exactly, normal. And I doubt the government would let us walk around here if they figure that out."

Ron looked offended, "You think I'll just go and blow our cover living by myself?"

Her expression didn't change.

"Ok... maybe I would," he trailed, agreeing. "But that doesn't mean you have to hit me!"

Shego leaned forward, "Read my lips, Stoppable. I'm evil."

"That still doesn't mean you got to be rude too."

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed him by shoulder, pulling him along. Sometimes there was no use in arguing with Ron Stoppable. She should know after dealing with him on a regular basis.

On the plus side, at least the real estate agency was open late.

...

"Since you don't have much for a down payment, I'm afraid this is all you two could afford at the moment," the real estate agent told them, clipboard in hand.

If Shego needed to describe the place he showed them... the words would be between the lines of unpleasant and down right horrible. A single roomed apartment fit with the latest dirty windows you could find and stocked full to the brim with nothing. Sweet, sweet, nothing. And if that didn't hook them, the peeling paint on both the walls and ceiling sure did.

Oh how she wished she had her powers. Burning this place down almost seemed like she would be doing this damn neighborhood a favor. Raising property and whatnot, but alas, it's the only place they could afford to put a down payment at the moment. Stealing all those guys' wallets didn't actually supply them with much income.

In fact, the sidekicks were basically broke at this point.

No real choice, and with no real time either, Shego moaned softly, feeling a headache already coming along. How far the mighty have fallen has never sounded so true before. And to top it all off, her— _their_ stomach growled in protest. The day's events were finally catching up to them and what a day it has been. They had been so preoccupied with trying to figure out what to do, that they completely skipped out on any sort of meal.

"So what do you two think?" asked the real estate agent.

Shego's eyes narrowed dangerously and hell, even Ron's too. What did they think? What did they think! Trust them; he didn't want to know what they thought. Best to leave before the two sidekicks get any angrier.

Instead of even giving the guy a worded response, Shego held her hand out, waiting for him to drop the keys into her hands. Damn it. They really have fallen so low. It actually hurt her pride more than any fight she lost to Kimmie. At least then, Shego was fighting a person with an arsenal of 16 styles of kung-fu under her mission belt. This... this was just sad.

Sensing the growing tension in the air, the man quickly handed her the keys, bowed swiftly, and ran out the door, not even bothering to close it. Ron could only think of how rude the guy was. Who just leaves the door open when they leave someone's one room apartment? The nerve of some people, honestly.

At least he spoke English. Thank naco the people around here spoke English.

Shutting the door, Ron looked over to see Shego lazily dropping Club Orange bags on the floor with her along with them. Couldn't say he blamed her. Ron was about ready to crash after these long hours of aimless walking and forced learning.

"What are you staring at?"

Ron blinked in surprise, not noticing he had been staring at all in the first place. He smiled lightly as an apology and Shego merely rolled her eyes at him.

"Nothing," he answered, "Just a little hungry."

"Yea," she added," me too. I could go for some food. Even Drakken's Cocoa Moo sounds pretty good right about now and before you ask... don't ask."

Fair enough.

"Do you have any cash left from those guys' pockets you picked?" Ron asked.

She shrugged, digging through her own pocket before pulling out a small wad of cash. The smirk she had was small, but it was still her's.

"I got about 200 dollars left, give or take a little less," she said. "I'm too lazy to count right now."

Ron nodded, that was reasonable. They could definitely go get some fast food with that amount of cash. It would last them a few nights, but Ron wondered how they would survive when their money dried up.

"And I'm too lazy to walk too," Shego added, tossing him a few bills. "Go get us some food, would ya? I don't care what it is."

If there was ever an appropriate time for Ron to roll his eyes, it would be now. Definitely now.

He didn't though, not in the mood to fight anymore today. Ron just simply grabbed a spare key and left. The sooner he got the food, the sooner he could eat, fall asleep, and maybe wake up from this nightmare—hopefully.

Being alone for the first time today, Ron thoughts finally caught back up to him and he had to fight back tears.

What the hell happened!

How did all this happen?

And where did it all go wrong?

Ron wanted to blame Shego for trying to fry him earlier at Drakken's lair, but he didn't have the heart. Call it a sidekick thing. He just couldn't. Now blaming an incompetent Dr. Drakken, that was something he had no problem doing.

"Stupid Drakken and his stupid plans for world domination," Ron complained to no one, arms in the air. "Couldn't just be a dentist! Nooo... he had to be a mad scientist bent on world conquest."

Ron eventually stopped his rant at the first fast food place he could find and stopped to blink at the name.

"Slap in the Box? What a weird name for a restaurant... at least I hope it's a restaurant."

...

When Ron returns _home_ with the food, he didn't expect to see Shego staring out their dirty window. He actually wonders what she's staring at. What's there to look at? The moon isn't even out there. And he doubted she liked star gazing. Didn't really seem like a Shego thing.

When he drops the food onto floor, Shego finally turns to look at him and when he sees her face, the color began to drain away from his. For once, Shego actually looked nervous. There's a look of defeat in her eyes. And there's no glare, no smirk, no... evil. Everything about her seemed very tense. And she seemed to be even fighting with herself at whatever was bothering her.

Ron sits and just waits until she's ready to talk, figuring whatever she had to say wouldn't be the end of the world.

How wrong he was.

"I think... we need to get part-time jobs."

* * *

 **Author Notes:** Premise based off an anime.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Kim Possible.

* * *

 **Part-Time Sidekicks**

 **By: Imyoshi**

For Ron, the world didn't end, but it came pretty damn close to.

Shego couldn't be serious. A part-time job— _really_?

Still, the sidekick knew from her grim tired eyes that she did in fact mean it. And the teen had to wonder how hard it was for Shego to admit that. She had far more pride than he knew he'll ever have. Almost as much as Kim's.

Maybe even more.

Eventually, the awkward silence in the small apartment forced Ron to run his hand through his messy hair, sighing softly into the cold air. He actually found it lucky that their home didn't have any lighting. It made it easier to hide his sadness. Cruel as it may be.

In truth, Ron shouldn't be too surprised at the idea. It's solid and sound. However, the day's been long and draining and all he wanted to do was forget it and sleep. The easy—smart idea of a part-time job did seem to make perfect sense. And it's not like he could allow Shego to keep stealing people's wallets. His conscious wouldn't allow it forever.

"You're serious?" Ron finally answers.

Her glare returns, "Of course I'm serious."

Ron couldn't find the fear to flinch from her glare. It barely held any real power behind it. Fear or not though, he was glad to see her angry again. Seeing her angry was normal. And he currently preferred normal over his usual liking.

"Face it, Stoppable." Shego pouted, sitting right next to him and grabbing one of the bags of food. "We'll be broke before we know it. We _need_ money."

No argument.

"Still," Ron trailed, grabbing his own food. "Part-time jobs, us? Just hours ago me and KP were trying to stop you and Drakken from... Uh, actually, what were you two trying to do?"

Shego shrugged, pulling out a crudely wrapped burger and a small cartoon of vanilla swirl ice-cream the sidekick bought on a strange urge of impulse out from the bag. Her eyes narrowed slightly over the question. All she could give was a halfhearted shrug.

"Beats me, I just follow Dr. D's orders. I stop trying to figure out his half-brained schemes a long time ago. Sometimes I think he's just winging it at this point."

There's a hint of humor in her voice that's a bit hollow. Ron knows that feeling.

"Yea," he smiled lowly. "Blue boy never seems to think things through. If he did, we wouldn't be stuck in this mess right now."

When she didn't respond back, Ron looked over to see her unwrapping her burger in a calm manner.

Shego had at some point pulled out a plastic spoon from the bag, placed it between her teeth as she finished setting up her discounted meal. Ron couldn't help but stare at the unusual laid back appearance she had at the moment. Compared to her normal fierce determinedness, she looked slightly different in the dim light. Ron almost dared thought adorable.

Paying far more attention now, it seemed after he gone to get food, Shego had changed into comfortable clothing and tied her hair back into a messy ponytail. She didn't look as hostile anymore.

She almost seemed normal. Not that normal was a bad thing. Ron kinda liked not having Shego look so angry all the time. It made the sitch a little easier to handle.

"So," Ron trailed, not want to be caught staring again. "Part-time jobs... got any ideas _where_ you want to work?"

Shego ignored him for a bit, digging into her vanilla swirl ice cream. She seems to be focused solely on the frozen treat, but Ron could tell that she was just thinking about the question. Her eyes may have been staring at the food, but her gaze seemed completely unfocused.

"Stop staring at me."

Okay, maybe not _completely_ unfocused as he thought as again he's been caught staring. Irony never hurt so much.

Ron grinned at her, rubbing his neck.

"Hehe, sorry," she rolled her eyes, placing her mostly finished ice cream down.

Sigh, "Whatever, Stoppable... but, no," she answered. "I don't have any ideas where to work or where to even begin looking for a damn job. I've been a little too preoccupied thinking of ways to hurt Dr. D when we find a way back home."

"If we find a way back home," Ron added weakly.

"... Yea, if."

"Shego?"

"No more talking, sidekick." Shego ordered, grabbing her greasy burger. "I'm hungry and you're not helping. We'll figure this out in the morning. It's been way too long a day."

The sidekick wanted to ask more, talk a bit, but Shego bit into her burger defiantly, stopping all conversation. Even her glare seemed to get back some of its power. He couldn't blame her though. The day's been... eventful and the city lights were slowly dimming. They were losing what little light source they had.

And if Shego didn't want to talk, then that was it. Ron couldn't force her.

Not like he could even if he wanted to anyway. She's just as stubborn as Kim, but also evil.

Neither said a word to each other for remainder of the meal, instead enjoying the small amount of silence after a tiresome day. Like Ron, Shego couldn't believe the sitch they found themselves in and it helped to be able to think clearly, especially after finally getting something to fill her empty stomach. At least on a positive note, they got a lot done in a few hours. ID's, a tiny apartment, and computer access was pretty damn impressive if she thought so herself.

Still, they had no money and Ron's kimmunicator wasn't working anytime soon. And the worst of it all, she could not feel any of her powers. Shego's almost forgotten how it feels to not have a burning sensation in the center of her chest.

She didn't like the feeling.

Later with their meal done, Ron changed into his own comfortable clothing and made a makeshift pillow from his bag of clothes, Shego doing the same. The floor proved to be very uncomfortable, and the night air only seemed to get colder.

Lost, Ron stared at the ceiling, finally feeling sleep about to come to him. He slowly turned over to see Shego's back towards him and her arms brought together.

"Goodnight, Shego."

"Whatever."

...

Shego was the first to wake up.

She sat up, wincing at all the aches around her body. Her back and neck were killing her and the small sounds of her body cracking as she moved made her cringe. She can only guess that her hair was a mess as she rubbed her neck and shoulder aches.

Okay, so maybe sleeping on the floor was so not a good idea.

Cut her some slack.

At least by the looks of it outside their dirty window, the day was mostly cloudy. So the day didn't look like it was going to be hot, that's something she was somewhat grateful for. In fact it was pretty damn cold already.

Freezing, Shego already settled on wearing warm clothing for the day. No argument.

Looking over, she noticed Ron still sleeping, clutching his bag of clothes. So much for using them as a pillow, Ron preferred to hold onto something in sleep. Shego mentally took note of that for later. Could be useful to know. Right now though, she needed to get up and stretch her muscles.

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

So much for stretching.

Rolling her eyes, Shego went over to answer the door as she noticed Ron slowly waking up now. Damn, she was hoping for at least a few minute of peace and quiet before the sidekick woke up.

Slightly angry now, her glare became nasty. Shego was so not in the mood to be dealing with anybody now.

"What?!" she all but yelled as she answered the door.

The man outside the door did not even flinch at her tone or her glare. He wore a pair of glasses and had straight light black hair falling past his strong jaw, skinny, slightly taller than them with a simple button white shirt, and pair of creaseless black jeans. Said man pushed his glasses up, fixing her a nonchalant glare to match.

"Sorry to disturb you this morning," he did not sound sorry at all. "But my name is Nara. I'm your landlord. We didn't get a chance to meet yesterday considering on how late you two moved in last night."

Shego arched a brow at him, hand still lingering on the door knob, deciding whether or not to simply shut the door on him. No, she couldn't. He _was_ the landlord.

Relaxing, Shego leaned using the door, looking now a little curious.

"I'm, Shego," Nara looked behind her to see Ron getting up. "And that is... my... roommate, Stoppable."

"Stoppable?"

"It's Ron!" he corrected, standing up to stretch his muscles. "Ron Stoppable. She just doesn't like to say my name right. She's evil."

Nara looked back at Shego who simply shrugged at Ron's statement. What? She's technically not denying it nor is she confirming it. Best to leave the landlord guessing; keep him on his toes.

"Right?" Nara stretched, looking between the two. "Well, I came by to welcome you two to the complex. As you probably noticed there are only four apartments here in this complex. If you have any questions, mine is below yours to the right. Now," he pulled out a sheet from his pocket. "Here are a few rules you must comply to if you desire to continue living here."

"Rules?" Shego asked, mockingly.

"Yes, rules," Nara glared. "First and foremost, no unnecessary loud sounds. Second, keep your area sanitary. And third, there will be no smoking as to prevent a fire hazard." He pushed up his glasses, "Do I make myself clear?"

Shego couldn't even believe the guy. First he comes by and forces a bunch of rules on them. And then has the audacity to not even flinch at her glare. This man deserved to suffer.

She snatched the paper out of Nara's hand as Ron walked over to see their new landlord. Nara didn't so much as flinch at Shego's rudeness, but he did raise a brow at the other sidekick. He just noticed something odd about him.

"Strange," Nara commented. "We do not see many blonds around here in Yono."

Both the sidekicks paused at his observation.

"You don't?" Ron asked.

"No," he answered. "We do not. It is quite rare to see a blond person around Yono." Staring at him for a moment longer, Nara turned away. "I must leave now. I have other assignments to catch up on to finish before the day ends. Do follow the rules." He nodded, "Goodbye."

Neither of the sidekicks bid him a goodbye as the man walked away and down towards his own apartment. They just sort of stared for a moment at him, Shego momentarily wondering how he didn't even so much as crack under her glare and Ron thinking on how blonds were rare here in Yono.

"Well," Ron spoke over Shego's shoulder. "That was different."

Shego's nose cringed, pushing Ron away, "Eww! Move back! Your breath stinks, sidekick!"

Ron pretended to take offense to that, "Well... yours doesn't smell too bueno either."

"Well maybe if _someone_ hadn't bought food that reeked of onions and mustard, then maybe my breath wouldn't smell so bad!"

He pushed his hand to his chest, "Oh? So now it's my fault?"

Shego smirked, "Hmph, I'm glad were on the same page here."

Ron didn't even dignify that with a response. Not like he could. Shego would probably twist his words around anyways. And the cheeky grin she was giving him was not helping.

"Whatever," he eventually pouted. "Speaking of bad breath, how are we going to brush our teeth? We didn't even buy any toothbrushes or other things for that matter yesterday. We got nothing."

Her smirk turned somewhat discouraged as she thought about. They couldn't waste the little money they had. They had to save most of it for food. Maybe they could use a little for basic needs like a toothbrush and such, but that was probably all about it.

"Wow, your hair's a mess."

Ok, maybe they needed to buy a brush too... after she beat up the sidekick.

"What did you just say," Shego demanded her teeth bare.

"What?" Ron grinned. "I just tell it as it is. No harm done."

Not yet.

Shego huffed, wondering how he could just say that without thinking of the consequences. She figured that he must be slow in the morning. Best to get use to it now, before she do something rash like kill him. No matter how tempting it sounded.

"Whatever, Stoppable. It's too early to be dealing with your usual—"

"Ronness?"

"Sure," Shego relented. "Let's go with that."

Glad, Ron decided to take a closer at their small apartment since it was too hard to do during night. Except for the sliding door leading to the bathroom, the place seemed to be falling apart. The sink's metal looked dull, the room was relatively bare aside from their bags clothing, and the walls had a faded emerald. He could see no closet and just realized the bathroom probably was just as scarce.

Ignoring Shego who was currently stretching, Ron checked the bathroom to see if his presumptions proved true.

They did.

"Um... Shego," Ron called.

Shego looked over her shoulder to see Ron staring at her with a blank face.

"What?"

"Hehe, you're going to think this is funny," her eyes narrowed. "We don't have a shower to you know… shower in."

One second Ron was standing next to the bathroom, and the next he was not. Shego pulled Ron away to check herself and found that he was indeed right. No shower at all.

"Ok," Shego slowly said, anger building. "There's no shower."

Ron waited to see her get angry and judging by the way her fingers quietly dug into the wall and how her shoulders slightly tense, he figures his wait wouldn't be too long. Never had Ron missed Rufus as much as he did now for he swore a black cloud was hovering over Shego.

He heard her sigh before turning around, her usual glare sharper.

"Let's go find the landlord." It wasn't so much as a suggestion as a demand.

A demand Ron Stoppable had no problem following.

But before they could leave, Ron noticed they had yet to change into something more going out worthy. Not that the sidekick cared, but Shego would most definitely would.

"Wait, Shego?" he cut in.

"What is it now, Stoppable?"

"We should probably change."

...

Wearing a soft dark green sweater, a black and green striped scarf, and black sweats, Shego found herself already going to ask—demand why the two sidekicks did not have a shower to their landlord. Ron chose to wear something similar to his mission outfit, added with a scarf blue compared to Shego.

"Well," Nara answered the door, fixing his glasses. "I did not expect to see you two again so soon."

"Trust us, the feelings mutual," Shego glared, arms crossed. "We don't have a shower."

Their landlord merely raised a brow, fixing them a stare. Silence followed until a cold wind passed them and Nara cleared his throat.

"You've just recently moved here, to Yono?" he asked finally.

"Yea," Ron answered, arms tucked away. "We're not from around here, dude."

Shego fixed Ron a glare for just bluntly saying that, but practically let it go. There's no real point now. And she really wanted a shower, so she'll let it go for now.

"Here in Yono," he informer. "If your apartment does not have a shower, then you must use a public bathhouse." Nara pointed off at a distance. "You can find one called Tears and Such down a few blocks in that general direction."

A public bathhouse? Really?

Getting slightly frustrated, Shego wanted to protest at the idea of a public bathhouse. She wanted to yell out to the sky, cursing everything to heck. But she didn't. She couldn't. There's no real point of doing that. Not now. She had to keep her cool. The sidekicks have far more important things to figure out.

Staring at the ground, she thought. They could go shower-less for a few days. It wouldn't kill them.

"If that is all you needed," their landlord started. "Then I will leave you two now."

Ron waved at him, grinning, "Thanks for the help, dude."

Nara began closing his door, nodding, "You are most welcome... by the way, Miss Shego. Do brush your teeth. Your breath is atrocious."

 _Shut_!

Shego looked up, furious.

"Why you son of—!"

"Whoa!" Ron grabbed her waist to keep her from lunging at their landlord. "C'mon, Shego. Let's go check out the town. We need to find jobs, remember?"

"Let me go, sidekick! I just need five minutes with him!" she struggled in his hold. "I'll wipe the floor with that guy."

Sigh, "What did I ever do to deserve this?"

...

After calming Shego back down to her usual angry mood, they did in fact begin checking out the town. They both agreed to hold off going to the bathhouse until they had some more cash to spend. And even wondered where they could find a cheap breakfast.

Trying to kill your landlord and trying to stop your _roommate_ from killing your landlord really worked up an appetite.

Passing by many strangers on the sidewalk, Shego noticed a few would occasionally look back to stare at them or more correctly, at Ron. Apparently blonds _really_ were rare here in this damn place for so far she has not seen a single one except Stoppable around.

It made her wonder if this was going to be a problem for them.

"Hey... Shego?" Ron pulled her from her thoughts, pointing at a place. "I think I found us a place to eat at."

Shego stopped to look at the restaurant, no doubt fast food, and glared at the name.

"Mel Taco?" she thought aloud, sighing. "Fine, but we can't keep eating fast food forever, Stoppable. But right now we don't have many options."

Ron didn't argue as he followed Shego inside. She was right. Fast food would weaken their already weakened bodies even more in time, and Ron preferred for that to not happen. Even he didn't have Bueno Nacho everyday back at home.

Ron paused as he stepped inside, thinking about home. He already misses it so much, even if it's only been barely a day. There are way too many strange faces here. And the only face he did know did not even like him.

"Hey," Shego suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder. "C'mon, I ordered for us. I hope you like breakfast burritos, because that's all I got."

The sidekick nodded absently, his eyes wide. How long had he been lost in his thoughts? Shego already had ordered their food.

Sitting down at a far off table with their meal, a small silence stretched between the two sidekicks. Yesterday the adrenaline of finding out where they were sort of took up their time and thoughts. And the rude awakening from their landlord took more of their time.

Now—now there's an awkward silence between the two.

"So," Ron laughs off to the side. "This really happened. We're really trapped here. It wasn't a dream."

"Yea," she shares in his enthusiasm. "Definitely real. Woo-hoo."

Finally Ron decided to just let it out.

"Well, this tanks," sighed the sidekick, kicking his legs forwards. "I've never wanted to hurt Drakken so bad. Next time I see him..."

"Get in line, Stoppable." Shego smirked, running her finger over her cup. "I get the first hit and the second... and the third."

Ron took a bite of his breakfast burrito, smirking. "What? Only three? And here I thought the great Shego could be nasty?"

"Watch it, Stoppable," she glared lightly. "I only need two hits to bring _you_ down."

"Whatever you say, Shego."

They continued their meal in a fairly relative peace, a lingering awkwardness still hanging in the air. Eventually though, Shego smirked into her drink, eyes gleaming with a mischievous shine. Evil never felt so good.

"So let me ask you something?" she waited until he took a sip of his drink. "What's the deal with you and the princess? Are you two like dating or what?"

Cue spit take. Followed with extreme coughing and finished off with a very pleased evil sidekick.

"You should slow down when you eat, sidekick," casually mocked Shego, biting into her food. "The food's not going anywhere."

Ron slowly glares at her, "I hate you."

"I'm flattered, but don't change the subject," she grinned. Ron really hated that look, "So are you two dating or not?"

"I don't really feel comfortable talking about this."

"Psh!" she mocked. "When has something like feelings ever stop me? Talk now, sidekick, while I'm still being nice."

"This is you being nice?" Shego gave him a look. "Fine, fine! You win. I'll talk. Though your niceness could use some work."

"Noted."

It was so not noted.

Enjoying her drink, Shego waited patiently as Ron gathered his wits. It took him a moment to think on how to even begin this conversation considering that Shego of _all_ people was the first to ever ask him, outside of Monique and Felix that is.

"When have I ever given you the impression that KP and I were dating?" he finally asked, arms crossed.

"Oh I don't know... she's not my girlfriend ring a bell? Or how about that cute little pet name you gave her. _KP_ ," she grinned larger.

Ron really, _really_ hated that look.

"I've been calling her that since we were kids. What about you?" Ron almost yelled, hands pressed on the table. "You keep calling her princess."

Shego kept her grin strong, but a glare appeared.

"So? That's because she acts like one," argued Shego. "I also call Drakken, Dr. D. And you, sidekick. Everyone I know has their own name I've given them."

"What about your own brothers?"

"Idiots."

The sidekick sat there, slightly stunned. She really did give anyone she knew... at least anyone she bothered to know a nickname. She probably didn't have some for the other super villains, seeing as how she had spent most of her majority of time with Doctor Drakken.

Argument over, Ron slouched on his chair, an arm hanging off the top, and stare towards the ceiling.

"We've never dated." Ron began suddenly, tone quietly impassive. "It just never happened. She's too busy chasing after other guys to even notice me. I'm Ron to KP."

"You like her?" Ron ignored her, not really sure himself.

"I don't know anymore," he leaned forward, playing with the straw of his drink. "It kinda feels like I _have_ to go out with Kim. Like everyone I know is expecting me to."

"And what?" she scoffed. "You don't want to?"

Ron eyes narrowed, his resolve hardening "Why should I even tell you? You're probably going to use this against me in the future. Make my life hell."

Shego actually took some offense to that, frowning at the sidekick, but then just as quickly, she grinned again, fishing off one of her breakfast burritos.

"Trust me, Sidekick, if I really wanted to make your life hell... I could think of a lot worse ways to do it."

How that was the truth. Easily enough, that seemed to be the end of conversation thankfully. At least for now Ron thought. Shego was never one to just let things go. Luckily they had little food to finish now. Any awkwardness before had melted away. Everything was good.

Well... almost good.

No matter how hard he tries, Ron can't seem to completely ignore how Shego keeps grinning at him through the rest of the meal.

...

Breakfast over, stomachs full, day still very cold, Shego and Ron walked aimlessly through the town. Both paid attention to any potential areas to work, mentally crossing out areas that didn't suit them. Every so often, Ron would note places they could buy discounted goods from. His Smarty Mart bargain skills finally coming into play.

Eventually though, Ron noticed the same thing Shego did earlier.

"You know... he's right?" Ron chimed out of nowhere.

"Who's right?" Shego asked.

"Our landlord... I haven't seen a single blond anywhere since we left the apartment. Not a single one," he looked around, spotting a couple of teenagers. "I mean look at that. There's a guy over there with blue hair."

Shego looked over.

He was right.

"Eh," she shrugged, not wanting to dwell on it now. "Let's not worry over it. It can't be that strange. We'll check it out later."

"Ok," Ron rubbed his neck, staring at random places, "So... see any places we should apply for?"

Shego stopped dead in her track, causing Ron to bump into her. Her eyes widen at the sudden news dropped onto her.

We?

Oh no! There was not going to be a _we_! Sure, Shego planned to keep an eye on him, but she wasn't going to be stuck with the sidekick twenty-four seven. He'll sooner or later drive her up the wall. And right now, neither of the sidekicks couldn't afford to draw any attention to themselves.

They needed to work apart.

Breathing very slowly, she turned around to glare hard at Ron. He flinched back for a reaction and Shego took a small moment to smirk at his fear. Fear was good.

"Listen here, sidekick," she poked him in the shoulder. "You and I working together, is not going to happen—and before you ask why. I just need some me time. Got it?"

Ron nodded absently, rubbing his shoulder.

Shego relaxed, "Good. Now we should split and search? You know... to cover more ground and yadda, yadda. Let's meet back at the apartment around 7-ish? That should give us enough time to find _somewhere_ to work."

"Sure?" he forcibly agreed, looking at a nearby street clock. "I guess that can work?"

"Good! I'll go this way and you go the other way. Don't get too lost, Stoppable." Shego walked off in a random direction in a hurry, not caring for his confused look.

When she turned a corner, disappearing from his sight, Ron ran one hand through his hair, very lost.

"What just happened?"

...

Alone and already very lost, Ron wandered the town in search of a part-time job, occasionally making quick notes to remember a few stores here and there. Sometimes he just stopped in front of a store and stare through the window to see the many odd things this world had. Window shopping never sounded so right.

Aimlessly lost, Ron curiously touched his chest again, wondering why he felt so hollow sometimes. The feeling would come and go and he just realized it now. Having spent all his time around Shego must've made him fail to notice, but now alone on his own, it's definitely an empty feeling he's sensing.

Like a part of him is missing—not there.

Strange, he wondered why he felt this way, but came to no definite answer.

Better to leave that for later. No use in trying to figure out the impossible. That's Kim's job.

Walking down the street, Ron watched as cars kept passing by him, clueless to the idea of him being from a different world. People pass by him without a care, though some did turn around and stare at him. Probably because of the blond hair, which was something he still needed to figure out.

Why was blond hair so special?

Ron possibly could've just asked some random stranger, but felt like that one would be a big no on Shego's do not attract attention to yourself rule. A rule he was finding very hard not to break. It's not even his fault! Life just hated the sidekick.

Looking at the sky, cloudy and all, Ron sighed; it couldn't be anywhere closer than eleven. He practically had the entire day to find a part-time job and explore.

Not like he wanted a part-time job right now, but the sidekicks needed money.

Sigh, he wondered what Kim was up to. Probably going crazy looking for him or contacting Wade for clues—somewhere between those lines at least. On the plus side, at least Shego was around.

Ron's still not entirely sure that's a good thing.

Don't get him wrong, he's grateful that she got him an ID and a place to crash, but... she's Shego. Most wanted woman in their world. Wanted in eleven—make those twelfth countries.

Frowning, Ron fixed his scarf, forgetting about his troubles and eyeing a store off in the distance. It was relatively large with purple and white coloring, practically impossible to miss. Most likely a superstore based off its name.

"Marty Mart?" he paused, feeling a sense of déjà vu. An odd rush pulled him towards the store, "A store that big must need more employees. Even better, they might have some great sales... maybe even sales on some string cheese. Oh, I could go for some string cheese."

Mind totally set, Ron almost ran to the store, smiling for the first time since he and Shego separated.

...

Ron entered the mega store ready to explore. His eyes scanned over the aisles in front of him, towers of things just waiting to be touched and adored.

"Hello, welcome to..."

The sidekick ignored the red vested man, all too familiar with a greeter. Seriously, what's even the point of that job? To remind the customer what store he's in? What a waste of an employee if you asked him.

Rubbing his hands together, Ron felt a sense of joy radiate in him. Being around Shego didn't allow him to act foolish, but alone… he could be himself—allow his essential Ronness to take hold again. And naco did he plan to act like a fool again.

Not paying the slightest bit of attention to where he's going because of the sheer awesomeness of the store, Ron bumps into someone carrying a box that already looked open.

Said man frowned at him.

"Hey, watch it kid!" yelled the guy. "Look where you're going next time!"

"Sorry," Ron smiled, laughing, "Just got so caught up with all the stuff around."

The man rolled his eyes and pushed Ron aside to take his box over to the nearby return department.

Ron didn't know if maybe hanging out with Shego the past day had anything to do with, but he did not like how that guy just pushed aside. What gave that guy the right to do that?

Angry, Ron walked over to the guy, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to turn around before the teen at the return department could get a word in.

"Hey, look here, buddy," Ron forced. "I said I was sorry, you don't have to be such a jerk about it and push me."

The man scoffed at Ron, tugging his arm away, "Please... I don't have time to be dealing with a twerp like you. I got to return this stupid broken microwave and get my cash back. So leave me alone, kid."

"Why? Can't fix it yourself?" Ron mocked.

The guy got angrier, "That's not point at all. The stupid microwave was broken when I bought it."

"So," Ron relaxed, his essential Ronness kicking in. "Buy another one. Keep the broken one, tear apart the new one and learn how to fix the broken one."

"And why would I do that when I can just return this one and buy myself a new one," the man challenged.

"Easy," Ron smiled lazily, tossing his arm around his shoulder. "Just think about it. You learn what's wrong with the one you already have after tearing apart the second one. You fix the first one and then fix the second one. Then you'll have _two_ microwaves. One for now and one for later and if either of them break, you can always fix them."

The random guy seems so lost that it actually sounds like a solid idea. Ron is even surprised he's even thinking about it. Last time he tried to pitch anything, Rufus sold Will Du a chocolate bar and he didn't. Didn't count though.

Nobody could sell to that guy.

"Uh... yea," the guy agreed. Wow, "You're right! Hey thanks. Sorry for pushing you earlier. I'm gonna go buy a second microwave right now!"

Ron watched the sap leave. Poor guy doesn't even realize that you only need one microwave. The sidekick didn't know why, but that felt awesome. Tricking people was something Ron liked to do. It's just another form of distraction.

Satisfied, Ron wondered where to begin looking when the teen from the return department called him.

"You there. Wait."

Ron turns to see a teen about his age wearing a black vest approach him with the minimalist of effort and a stare that seemed to freeze the air around of him. He had messy jet black hair barely passing his jaw, black eyes, and slightly pale skin.

"Yes," Ron asked, slightly unnerved.

The guy just stared at Ron for a moment, eyes piercing, before answering with absolutely no emotion in his voice.

"You just got that man to keep his broken microwave and buy a new one," he pauses, looking to where the man was heading. "I must say. I am impressed."

"... Thanks?" he thinks.

The silence stretches for second before the teen looks back at Ron, emotion still void.

"Do you have a job?"

Ron doesn't know what to make of the question and instead answers very slowly, "No?"

"You do now."

"Huh?" Ron blinks and can't help but ask, "Wait... what?" No seriously. What?

"I have just offered you a job," he replied monotonously. "Do you not want a job?"

Ron can't help but stare. What's with this guy? Everything he says has absolutely no emotion in it at all. It's like talking to a robot. A robot that made no sense. He almost feels like this guy's eyes are staring into his very soul in a cold, cold way.

"It is very rude to stare."

Ron inwardly groaned, covering his face. Damn it! How many times has someone told him that in the past 24 hours? People are going to start calling him a stalker at this rate. That's _exactly_ what he needed too.

Ron Stoppable the Stalker.

Oddly enough it had a nice ring to it.

The sidekick considered his options, but then remembered. He didn't have options. Here he needed a part-time job and one just happens to fall into his lap. A conspiracy must've been at work here. There just had to be.

"Fine," Ron finally accepts, unsure and a still little on edge. "I really need a part-time job anyways."

Tch, "Conformist."

...

Ron stood behind as the black vested teen talked to this older guy in a red vest and had brown hair. The older dude look pretty enthusiastic compared to the teen, but so far anything would at this point. Sooner or later both them finally walked over to Ron, albeit the teen much slower.

The older guy gave Ron a hearty handshake, a large grin plastered on his face.

"Ah! So you're the guy James wanted to hire. I'm the manager here at Marty Mart. It's a pleasure to meet you, uh—"

"Stoppable, Ron Stoppable," Ron answered, grinning. Now this guy had emotion. "And does this mean I got the job?"

The man laughed, "Of course! Anyone that _James_ would recommend has to be—"

"The Goth. My name is James the Goth. You got to say it together," James the Goth dully berated him from out of nowhere. "How many times must I tell you?"

"Right!" the manager nervously laughed, "Sorry, James—the Goth!"

"Conformist," James spoke.

The manger seemed to ignore that last part and turn back to Ron, laughing nervously now. His hands fidgeted uncomfortably, like he just got caught stealing something. Ron didn't even know what to make of it? Wasn't this guy the manager? Why did he let the employee walk all over him just now?

"So?" the manager suddenly spoke. "What do you say? Wanna work here with James the Goth in returns?"

Temporary pulled from his thoughts, Ron looked over to the side where James was with a look that screams he does not care at all where he is at. No emotion at all.

"Uh..."

"Please," the manager silent begs, grabbing Ron by the shoulders. "James here—"

"The Goth."

"The Goth," the manager sighed, "is our best employee. No one has ever caught his interest before in hiring. He has the best numbers we've ever seen nationally on returns and if he likes you... then you must be good."

No way.

The sidekick did not believe it. That guy back there had the best sales nationally? He's as emotionless as dirt. There's just no way he could be that good. James looked like he didn't even want to be here.

"Trust me," the manager answered Ron's unspoken question. "Just watch him in action, you'll see."

Ron still wasn't too sure, "I don't know."

"How about a trial run?" he asked, eyes shining. "Work here for a day and if you don't like it, then you can just leave. No strings attached. We'll even throw in a few free party-size bags of chips." Ron still looked unsure, "Did I also mention employees get a store discount?"

Half an hour of training later, Ron was fitted in a red vest, a warm smile highlighting his features. It wasn't Smarty Mart, but it'll do for now. Besides, who could resist the temptations of a sale and slashed prices? Not him that's for sure.

And Shego would like the idea of saving money and getting a part-time job.

It's a win-win sitch.

Ready to work, Ron observed that James had a black vest on. Actually, he was the only one to have a black vest. The sidekick wondered how you got one of those.

"By the way, sir, how do I get a black vest like his?" Ron pointed at James.

"Oh," the manager blinked, relaxing. "That's easy. Just sell me nothing."

Ron raised a brow. Sell him nothing? What did that even mean? He couldn't even ask the guy as he walked away to go do his manager duties and whatnot. Fire people, crush dreams, take long breaks, yup, manager duties.

"What?" came James voice from behind.

Ron looked over to see James dealing with a customer. She had a mp3 player in her hands as far as Ron could tell and did not look too pleased about it. James merely stared at her, unaffected by her ranting, taking every few seconds to blink.

"So that is the reason I would like to get cash back for this mp3 player here," finished the customer. "And can we make it quick? I got places to be and things to do."

James the Goth gazed at the mp3 player on his counter and then looked back at woman.

"I can give you store credit," nope, still no emotion. "We do not do cash back without the receipt. And you do not have one."

"But my grandma gave me this for my birthday! I don't have a receipt—!" the customer cried.

"Then you are out luck."

"That's unfair!"

"Life is unfair."

"I want to speak to your manger," she demanded, glaring hard.

"We all want things," James said. "But we cannot always have them. Material possessions are merely a sad part of life and your existence. You will never truly be satisfied with just one material possession and that is why you seek the comfort of more. But it will never be enough for you. Instead, I will give you store credit."

The woman was truly at a loss for words and couldn't even form a sentence. Hell, Ron was almost a loss for words as he watched James the Goth take her mp3 player and give her back a receipt labeled with Store Credit on the front.

How in the hell did he pull that one off?

No longer paying any attention to her, James slightly looked over her to the next customer.

"Next."

The sidekick watched as the lady walked away, totally confused and he doesn't blame her. Ron actually wanted to see James handle the next customer when a large man who seemed to have a permanent frown, stepped up to his counter with a plasma TV.

"I'll cut straight to the point here, bud. I want cash back right now and won't settle for anything else," demanded the customer.

Thinking, the blond noticed that James was silently observing him, wondering how he'll handle this guy. He was just going to cave and give the guy his cash back when he realized maybe this was some sort of test. To see if he was fit to work here.

Resolve strong, Ron tried to think how Rufus would handle this. The little guy was a salesmen prodigy.

"Do you have a receipt," Ron asked.

"No," was his answer. "And I won't settle for anything less than cash back."

Ron took the TV, looking at it, "Can I ask what was wrong with it?"

"Nothing is wrong with it?" he answered, angry. "I just don't want it anymore!"

An idea came to Ron's head at his frustrations. This guy was starting to sound like Kim when she was angry at something that Bonnie did. It's almost funny if the memory didn't hurt. Still, he has experience dealing with hot-tempered people and how to distract them.

"Oh I get it," Ron casually grinned. "You have the boring TV. No wonder you wanna return it."

"Boring TV?"

Ron smirked at his small lapse. Perfect, "Yes the boring TV. You see because of this TV's average qualities, customers are returning theirs for store credit for when a better one would come out. So they could have the money ready to buy the TV when it does. It's been happening quite a lot lately. I'll just take care of this for you and convert it to store credit."

"Oh?" the guy scratched his head. "Um, okay. Yea, you do that."

Ron's smirk almost widened, but he needed to keep it small to not draw any suspicion. You know, Ron found he was pretty good at lying.

Moments later, the guy walked off with store credit and a look of confusion on his face. Hehe, that's Ron's essential Ronness for you, always making people second guessing themselves.

Looking over, Ron noticed James the Goth walking towards him, ignoring his current customer.

"You did perfect." James said suddenly. "Let us go on break."

Ron stared wide eyed at him, glancing over to James's current customer, "But we just started and there's a line forming?"

James glimpsed back for a small moment, still emotionless and tone flat, "They will still be here when we get back."

Ron figured the right thing to do was to argue, but then recalled how their _manager_ seemed to be almost afraid of James and reluctant to go against him. And who was he kidding? A break sounded badical.

Following James, Ron had a feeling this job was going to be awesome.

"So," Ron asked carelessly, grinning. "Your name is James the Goth?"

"Yes," James replied, his eyes lingering now. "Why do you ask?"

"I think it's cool," Ron answered, arms out. "You have a _the_ in your name. That's so badical!"

"Badical?"

"Yea, it's radical and bad put together," Ron explained, looking around the store in awe. "I created it."

James stopped walking, to tilt his head slightly at Ron, "You are not normal, you know that?"

The sidekick laughed at this, "Yea, I get that a lot. My motto is never be normal. Normal is just so overrated."

"Non-normal people wouldn't want a job." James pointed out.

"Yea," Ron challenged, eyebrows raised. "Non-normal people also don't have a crazy roommate who will kill them if they don't get a job. My roommate will murder me if I don't come home with a part-time job. She'll kill me."

"Ah, I see now," James understood. "It is a female. Now I understand your plight. You did not conform because you chose to; you conformed because you were forced to."

"What?"

"It no longer matters," the Goth forced. "But now I feel like I must ask. Is she also looking for a job?"

...

Shego scowled at the hothead wearing a green apron in front of her, daring him to make a move as she cracked her fingers. All the while, his uncle moved between them to calm her down, offering her a cup of their special Jasmine tea to settle her nerves.

"I'm so sorry young lady for my nephew's rudeness. Please, can we not settle this over a cup of Jasmine tea?"

* * *

 **Author Notes:** Sorry for not being around. I hope my two original characters are likable.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Kim Possible.

* * *

 **Part-Time Sidekicks**

 **By: Imyoshi**

Ditching the sidekick at first seemed like a good idea, and after a few minutes of alone time, Shego knew the idea had been a great idea. Nothing like peace and quiet to calm the nerves, let her properly think, and not punch the daylights out of the next schmuck who gave her a flirty wink or lame pickup line. Though the temptation got stronger each time they did.

Passing by small family stores that had an air of happiness and good fortune that made Shego want to gag, the female sidekick's footsteps pushed her to a quiet hole in the wall shop. She would've moved on, but the Earth green décor and name called out to some primitive part of her psyche.

Shego snorted at the name, "The Jasmine Dragon, huh?"

Her eyes traveled the jade dragon and eventually fell on the _Help Wanted_ sign and she wished they hadn't. Now she's at least force to go in there and check the place out. See if it's a suitable and potential work environment.

How the mighty have fallen.

Fixing her scarf, she angrily walked through the door, immediately feeling an assault of pastry scented smells. She wanted to step out, but her hand remained frozen to the handle. The smell's neither bad nor overpowering, just everywhere—almost suffocating.

Not too impossible to work with.

Hating her life, Shego released her hold on the handle and walked deeper inside the shop, reaching the counter with no one available. She impatiently ringed the bell, waiting for whoever worked here to hurry the hell up as she leaned angrily on the counter. While she waited, she looked around, observing the inside décor.

Green lanterns hung from the ceiling and the tables matched alongside them. There was a second room that was blocked out by a green curtain, and dragon paintings littered the walls. A nice glow enchanted the room in an almost pleasant feeling, masked alongside the scent of those pastries she could smell. It was still early, so no customers littered the room, yet, but Shego had a feeling that The Jasmine Dragon was fairly popular.

Better be with a name like that.

Narrowing her eyes, she tapped the bell again, "Where the hell is this damn guy at?"

 _Ring_! _Ring_! _Ring_! _Ring_!

"Hey!" Shego stops the ringing to look over her shoulder. There she spots a man around Ron's age with a mop of jet black hair and amber colored eyes with part of his face scarred from a deep burn on the left side of his face. Compared to the green atmosphere, he wore a surprising amount of red and gold loose clothing that clashed with his green apron, "There's no reason to ring the bell so many times!"

Looks like he had a temper to boot?

Smirking, Shego accepted the false challenge, ringing the bell for her own twisted enjoyment, "But I like ringing the bell. It got you here, didn't it?"

Enjoying his glare, she matched his with her own, taking the time to study his square jaw and natural scowl. From the way his apron seemed to be tied around his body, this guy had a lean body frame, packing on some decent muscle.

Not bad. If this had been back in her world, she probably would've played around with him before she got bored. Alas, that was beyond her... physically speaking. Emotions, on the other hand, are a girl's best friend. And Shego just loves having friends over.

Hovering her palm over the instrument of his torture, he reached out, "Stop it! What do you want?!"

Tsk, tsk, "Is that anyway to talk to a potential customer?"

His hand instinctively flexed into a fist, and she enjoyed every second of it, "I said, what do you want?"

Ringing the bell once more to grate on his nerves, Shego saved him the suspense and lazily pointed at the _Help Wanted_ sign on the shaded windows. Her smirk grew twice as large at his sudden gasp and growing scowl.

"Need a job," she expressed plainly. "Saw the sign. Thought, what the hell! Beats jumping out of cakes."

He growled that made her think cute, "Leave. Now. I would never hire someone like you. Someone without any honor."

" _Honor_?" Shego mocked, laughing evilly at his suspense. "What use would I have for something so _useless_?"

It's an intense stare down between two foes of strong wills, but Shego didn't bother ringing the bell to just lose and walk away with her tail between her legs. Never gonna happen. Not now. Not ever.

Leaning on the counter, Shego folded her hands neatly in her sweater, "Listen Sparky, I need a job, capisce? And judging off your girly green apron, you're not the head honcho here. Let me talk to your boss and no one gets hurt."

Narrowing his eyes, the man grabbed the knot of girly apron, slowly pulling the kitchen over his shoulder in a way that was supposed to be menacing to the sidekick. "Are you threatening me?"

"Oh look! It understands me." Shego's blood is boiling now. She didn't know why she antagonized the guy, but she needed this outlet. Powers or no powers, Shego has been itching for a fight since she stuck in this backwards world.

"Get out."

The words play on Shego tongue, deliciously so, "Make me."

Having enough of this rude guest, the man walks up to Shego ready to shove, push, or even carry her out. But as soon as he took one step, another, much older male sporting a bald spot with sideburns covered in gray hair and a belly fit for a happy king, stepped out of the curtain with a relax smile and cup of steaming tea. His eyes resembled the boy's, yet far gentler with years of wisdom behind them. And he quickly observed the situation and quietly guided over between the two volcanoes ready to burst with an air of calmness.

"Zuko," the older man chimed, offering him a large smile and giving away his name. "Who is our lovely guest?"

Shego's smirk grew at _Zuko's_ stiffness, but the young man didn't let her get to him, "She is not guest, uncle. In fact, she was just about to leave."

"Oh, no," Shego waved. "I'm actually here about the job."

The uncle seemed to brighten up at the news, offering Shego a smile that made her not want to hurt the old man. Unlike his stubborn nephew, this guy had an air of control and power.

She could respect that.

"That's splendid news!" Uncle danced. "And just in the nick of time I might add! The morning rush is due for any minute!"

Zuko didn't seem to share in the same enthusiasm, "Uncle! You can't be serious! She's a charlatan! Just look at her!"

Charlatan! Her?

Shego will admit she's many things. A thief! A villain! A monster even! But she's not a fake. She's the real deal. The best of the best! Her pride will not allow for her honor to be tainted any further. Not by some guy in a frilly green apron.

Moving forward to teach this kid a lesson, Zuko glared at her advances, and against his uncle's wishes, balled his hands into fist.

Shego scowled at the hothead wearing a green apron in front of her, daring him to make a move as she cracked her fingers. All the while, his uncle moved between them to calm her down, offering her a cup of their special Jasmine tea to settle her nerves.

"I'm so sorry young lady for my nephew's rudeness. Please, can we not settle this over a cup of Jasmine tea?"

Normally Shego would've grabbed the steaming hot tea and used it as a weapon to blind her opponent, but the smell of it alone intoxicated the sidekick. It smelled heavenly and did in fact, calm her nerves. Enough at least not to break Zuko into three bite size pieces.

She swiped the drink and leaned back on the counter, "Give me that!"

Grinning largely now, the older man bowed to Shego, "Please forgive my nephew's rudeness. He can like a river at times. Calm one moment and fierce and unpredictable the next."

Shego almost snorted at the calm and zenny remark. The guy was like a walking volcano about ready to burst. She should know. She's like that almost all the time.

"So what you're saying there is... he's got a short temper," wasn't so much a question than a conformation. A second opinion only justified her observation. "That's good to know."

Zuko only scowled deeper at her, but Shego only smirked as she sipped her Jasmine tea, eyes playfully mocking. Uncle didn't seem to care, apparently stuck on easy mode like a broken arcade machine the cheap manager refused to throw out.

Clasping his hands, the older man grinned, "So... you're interested at working here?" she nods. "How does the position of waitress sound to you?"

Shego shrugged, "Beats grub work."

...

Wearing a short neon skirt that accentuated her long legs and a light green apron that tied neatly around her waist, Shego finished tying her hair into a tight ponytail. She left a single bang to hang over her forehead, down to halfway towards her nose. Her sharp eyes pierced the mirror in the bathroom and the reflection it held.

Admiring her new outfit in a mirror, Shego didn't need to admit she looked good. She already knew this waitress outfit made her looked good. Duh, doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell her that.

Grabbing her name tag from the sink, she wrote her name down for the annoying customers to know. A pointless endeavor since she never planned to learn their names, and could care less about it, but the old man she's come to learn is Iroh believed in pointless pleasantries.

Checking to make sure everything was in order; she stared hard at the mirror at her reflection one more time, still not believing the sitch she was in. A part-time job! Her! Thief extraordinaire! It's almost funny if it wasn't so damn bitter.

Whatever.

Stepping out the bathroom, she moves to greet the greedy customers, but she bumps into Zuko. They briefly glance at one another, and his eyes fall onto her name tag.

Smirk, "What type of name is Shego?"

Hmph, "What type of name is Zuko?"

Leaving Zuko behind to build more of a taunt, Shego steps into her new territory, scoping out her prey for the evening. Her trained eyes land on some male customers waiting by the corner of the establishment, and Shego doesn't bother faking a smile for them as she glides across towards them.

"Hello, may I take your order?" the words taste like acid in her mouth.

The trio of men leer at her without shame, trying to make their intentions known from the start. Shego pretends for a split second she knows what fear is. It's gone faster than that. And when one tries to grab her wrist, he's left shoved down onto the table before any of them could realize what had just happened in a painful vice grip.

Strength means nothing when trapped.

"Now, let's try this again," she says with the same level of passion. "May I take your order?"

Shego didn't know it until it was far too late, but her rude, stubborn, and quick to anger attitude will make her popular between the male and even female customers. The only reason she didn't walk out was because the tips were very generous and she'll be damned if she let Zuko have the last laugh.

...

Leaving Marty Mart with a party-size bag of chips and other discounted goods thanks to his new discount, Ron traveled back to the apartment with an hour to spare before meeting back up with Shego. His shift had ended hours ago, but James the Goth needed to show Ron the ropes to working at Marty Mart.

Though he did it with no passion and mostly let Ron figure out how to do each and everything. Yet Ron had appreciated the effort nonetheless, smiling his way through each and every exercise with renew vigor. James still hadn't showed any emotion, not like the sidekick expected him to.

He liked his new friend that way.

The manager was nice too, maybe lacking anything resembling a spine when it came to James, but nice.

Hitching the bad over his shoulder, Ron fixed his scarf as the cold air assaulted his nose. The sun had begun to set, and the sidekick wondered how Shego's first day at job hunting went. If she hadn't found some place to work yet, at least he did. No harm done.

The two sidekicks were a team.

Picking up the pace, Ron's eyes glazed over as he thought about home. He wondered what Kim was doing now. If she was looking for a way to bring Shego and him back or had already given up? A useless thought, Ron already knew KP wouldn't just give up.

She never did.

Reaching his weak sauce apartment, Ron passed by his landlord Nara, giving the man a simple wave that he returned slowly back. It's the thought that counts. Then he headed inside before the day's last rays of light washed away, allowing Ron some time to move the items he bought to their respected spaces. Toothbrushes bought on a two-for-one sale with his employee discount, toiletries, and essentially the works.

Ron's just about done sorting the rest of the items when Shego walks in with a bag of her own between the new outfits she's holding. A strong, delicious smell comes off from the bags, and Ron's mouth almost waters at the aroma.

"Oh?" Shego paused, relaxing her glare by a fraction. "You're home already. How'd it go, Stoppable? Find your own special corner of hell to call your own?"

He grinned proudly, "As a matter of fact, I did! You?"

Shego looked away, muttering lowly, "Unfortunately."

Not sensing any hostile coming from her, Ron went to the bathroom and came out with two toothbrushes, "I used some of the money to get us some toothbrushes and stuff. Don't worry, it was all on sale and I used my new employee discount. I got it for a steal."

"No," Shego argued, taking the obvious green toothbrush from his hands and then poking him it. "If you had gotten it for a steal, you wouldn't have wasted a penny. Don't lie to me, Stoppable. Stick to telling the truth, you're better at it."

He laughed anyways, pointing at the bag in her hands, "Is that what you did. Did you steal that, Shego?"

"And what if I did?" his smile dies and she rolls her eyes, "Geez, calm down, sidekick. No, I did not steal these. They were leftovers my new job was going to throw away, so I took them. It's not stealing if no one wants them."

His teasing grin is back, "So you got a job working as a waitress."

"Wha?!" Her glares returns stronger, "How did you figure that out?"

Ron waves his own toothbrush, returning the appliance back to the bathroom with his voice trailing off, "Well, I can't see you ever cooking, that's for sure. And you did bring back some pretty badical smelling food. I don't need to be a super genius to crack your secret."

Shego tossed her waitress outfit carelessly on the floor, "Well doy, you cracked the case. Want a medal?"

"That would be nice."

Feeling in a much better mood, Shego pressed the bag to his chest, "Well, whatever. I got dinner. Hope you like bread and tea."

Ron checked the contents, "What! No cheese?"

"Just eat it already!"

...

Peace filled the broken down apartment while the sidekicks slumbered. The sun's ray hardly filtered the room with a nasty glow and the air tasted alright. All was okay with the world. Until the blaring sound of music sounding like a cat scratching a chalk board woke Shego up in a deadly frenzy!

"What the hell is this garbage?!"

Ron cracks one eye open to see Shego smashing apart the new alarm clock he had just bought at Marty Mart. He almost wants to makes a joking remark on her disastrous bedhead, but wisely chooses his own life over morning banter. Still, the sight is both funny and disheartening.

Rolling up, he yawned, enjoying the last bits of the alarm's clock music before Shego finally broke the darn thing. "It's called Walking on Moonshine! It's a one-hit wonder! I think it's zesty."

Shego tossed the broken device into a nearby trash can, "I think its garbage."

Ron huffed, heading for the bathroom, "You just have no taste in music."

"Yea," cue eye rolling. "Yea, that's what it is. Let's just forget that it was a one-hit wonder for a reason."

She earns a sleepy grumble for an answer before the sidekick locks himself in the bathroom. The sleep is already long gone from her as that tone-deaf of a song robbed her of any wariness and supplied a morning workout. Didn't mean she was grateful, far from it.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she grumbled, "That's the last time I let you decide on an alarm clock."

No response.

Glaring at the bathroom door, Shego blew a stray strand of hair away from her nose and rolled off her cot. She sat up, doing a simple stretch routine to loosen any knots in her body before heading for the sink to splash some water in her face. When she's done, her hands remained gripped to the sink and she growls lowly.

Two months of this hellhole. Two months longer than she expected to be stuck here. What has their life come to? It had been tooth and nail until their first paycheck, but Ron's discounts and Shego's leftovers really paved the way to survival. Yet, the sidekicks have come no closer to reaching home. And she'll be damned before she accepts this sorry excuse of an apartment as their home.

Only a temporary base of operations—that's what she keeps telling herself.

Releasing her grip, she turned to observe their current lair. They've done decent for themselves these past couple of months. Paychecks and the occasional easy pickpocket from some poor unlucky sap really does help make the whole place more... livable. A couple of futons for sleeping on, a whatever brown table to eat on, a silver lamp that resided off to the far corner, more clothes, better food to be stored in the cupboards, necessities like a brush, and a mini fridge that Ron got off some special sale.

In all, it's so normal, and her eyes narrow dangerously at the thought.

Hate isn't strong enough of a word to express her feelings. She _loathes_ being normal.

Humphing, Shego moves to slip out of her pajamas—a simple pair of black sweats and a loose light green tank top—and into a pair of onyx jeans and striped t-shirt with different shades of green. When she's done, she waits for Stoppable to finish so they could begin the day. Maybe stop by her place of work and torment Zuko and snag a free breakfast.

Closing her eyes, Shego thought about her plans for the day. Work wasn't until a an hour from now and she's already deathly bored. She really missed being a world-renowned thief. Lowering herself to petty pit pocketing has really robbed her of the thrill, the absolute exciting gut-wrenching feeling of being alive. Just the idea of being caught red-handed no longer sounds fun.

It's sad.

The bathroom door creaks open and out steps the sidekick wearing something akin to his past clothing. His black mission shirt remains as the base of most of his clothing, which he pulls off by buying multiple copies of said shirt. It's the little things he adds that gives him depth. Like sometimes a scarf. Other times a different pair of pants. Even a second shirt over his first. Stoppable's just random like that.

Today Ron's rocking just his mission outfit without the gloves or combat belt.

"About time," Shego huffed, tapping her foot impatiently on the dirty floor. "What were you doing in there? Giving yourself one of those cheesy self-help speeches?"

Ron grinned, "You're just jealous you can't wake up with a smile on your face."

Glaring away, Shego folded her arms in something akin to anger and fascination. Over the months, Ron's developed something of a backbone when facing Shego—a first for anyone except the Princess and her stupid brothers.

"How could I when you buy trash like that? Be lucky I haven't murdered you yet."

"Ah, I love you too, Shego!" Ron teased, unaffected by Shego's anger. To him now, she's just another Bonnie Rockwaller, only angrier and stronger.

It took a lot of willpower for the thief to stop herself from bashing the sidekick's skull in with the broken remains of the alarm clock, even more so to stop the muscles in her lips that threatened to twitch into an amusing smirk.

Ron Stoppable with a backbone wasn't so bad. She could almost call the sidekick a friend. Maybe if they hadn't met on the opposite sides of the tracks, they could've been... somewhere along down the line. But for now, they're both sidekicks trying to survive in a hostile world until they could find a way back home. Mutual interest, nothing more, nothing less.

Nudging her head towards the door, Shego began heading out, "C'mon. Let's go get some breakfast."

"The free kind?"

"What else kind of breakfast is there?"

...

Zuko grumbled, scowling at the two people occupying the table in the dead middle of his uncle's tea shop. One he had to deal with on a daily basis, but the other only came by for breakfast and the occasional dropping in to see when Shego would be done with her shift. Unlike her, Ron's not sarcastic or mean in anyway. He's more like an open book and a constant ball of sunshine.

But Zuko didn't like either of them.

Shego was sarcastic and downright cruel while Ron was kind and overly ecstatic all the time, no matter what people said to him. When it came to Shego, Zuko knew what he was getting himself into before the day even started. Stoppable on the other hand is an enigma. One second he's teasing him mercilessly and the next he's trying to lift his spirits.

It's a scary thought that these two were somehow friends.

How they'd met, he'll never know.

And yet, somehow, some damn way, they all became friends.

When he first met Ron, Zuko figured Ron Stoppable had a lot more honor than his counterpart just by his bright, open smile, and that was true. Teasing and joking aside, the man didn't have a bad bone in his body. He always offered a helping hand even though Zuko always turned him down, and his uncle positively enjoyed having Ron's—surprising skills in cooking—help in creating new tea recipes that sold like hotcakes. While their hotcakes sold like no tomorrow.

The only reason he turned down Iroh's offer to become their head and only chef was to keep working alongside his other friend back at Marty Mart who had picked him up when he had desperately needed help. It also might've had something to do with Shego as well. A wasted talent if Zuko ever saw one, but both him and uncle had understood completely.

But that didn't make him any less frustrating.

Walking over, he carried a tray of _complimentary_ toasted bagels and cups of Jasmine tea. They didn't seem to notice him as they argued about something he knew little about and cared even less about. Even when he dropped the tray down onto the table, their eyes never wavered and their argument only got more heated.

"I'm telling you, Shego! Wrestling is real! Real I tell you," Ron defended his favorite past time. "How can you explain all those tickets they sell?"

"Uh, easy," she smirked. "They sell them to saps like you. Wrestling is fake, Stoppable. Fake! Get over it because it's true! Steel Toe is, and will always be, a faker."

Shego reached for a cup of tea and Ron's instantly on the offensive, "You take that back!"

Shego retorts with a slow sip of her tea. Her eyes gleam over the ridge of the cup, mockingly powerful and forever taunting, and Ron's not amused.

"Whatever," he relents and then checks the clock on the wall. "I better hurry or I'm going to be late—and we aren't through with this conversation yet," Ron grabbed a bagel and stuffed it between his teeth. He mumbled a halfhearted goodbye and ran out with a second bagel in hand.

Watching him leave, Shego silently lowered her drink and tossed Zuko a lazy glance, "We better get ready before the vultures start flocking in."

Zuko sighed, mentally preparing himself for said future vultures. They were relentless every morning with their coffee demands and coffee cake withdrawals. Almost to the point that made the young man want to quit, but he could never leave his uncle. That will never be an option for him.

Grabbing his own breakfast, Zuko didn't wordily give Shego a response. She accepted glares and pouts of indignant silence when she isn't the one who's angry. Words could easily set off the waitress's mood and Zuko preferred to avoid that, because against his uncle's wisdom of Shego being a fragile flower, Zuko knew better.

She had the eyes of an assailant.

The raven haired woman moved liked one. Talked liked one. Even fought like one whenever one of the customers got a little too frisky.

Fragile flower his ass.

The damn woman reminded him so much of his sister that he hated looking at her sometimes. Sarcastic, mean, deceitful, she even loved to push his buttons like his baby sister. And Zuko rather not think about any of his family other than his uncle. Family's too touchy of a subject for him and luckily Shego didn't ever seem to want to open up or talk about her own family. Which was perfectly fine by him. Made dealing with the _fragile flower_ a lot easier to handle and a whole lot less mind numbing.

Shego tapped him in on the shoulder, pushing her empty cup into his hands, "Look alive, we've got customers."

Leaving him to grab her uniform, Zuko looked down at the empty tea cup and back at the increasing amount of patrons walking through the door. He placed the mug on the tray and hurried to get ready before the shop got too crowded.

A few minutes later, he's taking orders and Shego's just finished putting on her uniform when her first tasked is thrown at her. Table whatever needed their dumplings brought to them and had requested her over Zuko or Uncle Iroh. Not an uncommon episode in her life.

A lot of people requested she bring their food to them.

Never mattered to her in the long run, the tips more than made up for the inconvenience and she got to break a few bones here and there, she wasn't complaining for the excuse to cause pain.

Moving with a trained grace between tables, Shego reached table whatever and dropped the customer's tray down with little care, purposely forgetting to give them a smile.

"Here's your food. Try not to choke on it."

Bidding them a farewell with a scowl that melted their ice coffee, Shego slipped back into the kitchen to deliver the next set of orders. The food smelled great, the customers were plentiful, she had a great boss, and someone to torment. In all, Shego landed the jackpot when it came down to finding a part-time job.

So why did she feel so empty inside?

Feeling her fire reignited her soul, Shego frowned down at the tasty pastries being loaded into her new tray.

Maybe it was because this life she currently had right now might end up being her entire life from now on. And for the first time in years, she felt scared. The thought of forever being trapped in Yono or this world scared something weak inside her.

This life—these _pastries_ were not the type of life she envisioned fulfilling. A life of crime and evil was her dream life. And she won't let herself forget that. Can't! It's the only hope she has left to hold on to. The only real reason worth waking up and dragging her body to this part-time damn job she despised more than the Princess. And that's not an easy task to fulfill.

Grabbing her new order, Shego's fingers dug into the metal tray as she forgo making any attempt of a smile while delivering the pastries to her next group of idiots. And as she dropped the tray for the simple minded peons, her eyes scanned the quaint, homey tea shop.

It would be so easy to fall into a false sense of security.

But she's Shego—thief extraordinaire that the sidekick so bluntly puts it.

She doesn't fall into security.

She avoids it.

...

Reaching the employee locker room with time to spare, Ron fished out his red vest from his locker and ran to his post. He slid on one foot on a turn and no one seemed to notice. Finally, the blond reached his spot with his new best friend, James the Goth, enjoying a smoke.

It's only more ironic with him smoking next to the _Do Not Smoke_ sign, but the manager didn't seem to be putting his foot down, or anyone else for that matter.

Giving the Goth a smile, Ron waved easily, "Hey, James the Goth! Wonderful morning, isn't it?"

James fixed Ron an impassive stare and flicked the cigarette away in a random direction, "What is so wonderful about it? The heavily polluted air? The cries of children screaming in the morning begging not to go to an institution that is nothing more than a waste of time and resources meant to drain away creative thinking and individuality? Or is it society slowly conforming into a conundrum from the weight of its own ambitions?"

"Nope!" Ron handed James a bagel. "I got you a bagel from The Jasmine Dragon. Thought you might like it?"

No emotion flickered in his eyes, "Ah. I see."

"Excuse me!" Two sets of eyes blinked over to an overly boisterous woman who had a stack of clothes in her hands. "I would like to return these for cash back."

Betraying no emotion, James took the bagel and bit down and chewed slowly before swallowing and leveling with the woman. "I would ask if you can not see we are having a discussion, but then I would have to assume you are properly educated."

Based off her confused stature, Ron pegged James right again, "Huh?"

"My point exactly."

Huffing in confusion, the woman dropped the clothes onto James the Goth's workstation, standing her ground. It's a pointless effort, Ron's learned, when it comes to anyone dealing with James the Goth. No one ever gets their way with him. But it's damn fun to watch him break a person with his words alone.

"These clothes don't do it for me anymore," she argued, slapping down her receipt. "They've lost their appeal and I want my money back."

"That is not their fault," James informed without missing a beat. "There is no one to blame other than yourself for the mask you have created. Society has pressed you down until you can no longer bear to stare at yourself in the mirror every morning unless you are overly happy. But the sad truth is, you are not. You try to return these clothes because they no longer conceal the true sadness they once did and hope to regain that since of normalcy."

Taking the receipt, James handed it back to her, slowly taking a bite of the bagel and took his time to chew it. In the meantime, the woman looked ready to explode, but James beat her to the figurative punch.

"Giving you cash back so you can buy more clothes to hide behind will only hinder you further. Instead, I will give you store credit to bring back some meaningless purpose into the bleak thing you call a life."

"But I don't want store credit!" her cry falls on deaf ears.

"Then you should have thought of that before you shopped at a discount store," the woman seemed to lose all the fight in her eyes. "Here is a cigarette to validate your pointless existence."

She took it with shaky hands, "... Do you have a light?"

"No smoking in the store. Next."

...

After watching James destroy customer after customer while he diverted all their attention to newer and far more expensive models of the brands they were trying to return, Ron and James the Goth's shifts ended and the two punched in their time cards. So far in the past two months, Ron Stoppable hasn't even gotten a glimpse of James showing any sort of emotion. To anyone else, it would've unnerved them and pushed them away, but Ron liked James just the way he was.

Exiting the superstore, the duo leaves the sanctuary or their workplace and head towards anything remotely interesting to do. With Shego's shift not ending for another hour and James giving himself an early workday, Ron wanted to explore the town a bit and James had nothing better to do and simply tagged along.

"So how is that roommate of yours?" James doesn't ask questions for the sake of curiosity, only to fill the silence in the air.

"Same as always. Trying to find reasons to kill me," Ron joked. Slight anger creeps into his voice, "Can you believe she hated my Walking on Moonshine alarm clock?! I spent two whole dollars on that and she just broke it."

James the Goth can believe that. Calling the song an instrument of torture does not do it enough justice. No one ever returned that item because no one ever bought that item. It's amazing they even had any lying about after the total recall.

"Yes." James says with a flat voice.

"Whose side are you on?"

"I do not take sides," he answered logically. "I will not conform to the principle of choosing sides. Your taste in music just happens to leave a lot to be desired."

Ron stopped walking, crossing his arms in a stubborn way, "That sounds an awfully lot like you're taking her side."

James relaxes his posture, resting his hands in his pockets, and lets the words roll boringly off his tongue, "Walking on Moonshine?"

"It's a good song!" Ron grumbles at James's unresponsiveness. "What? What music do you listen to my emotionless companion."

A gust of wind passes by, "I do not listen to music. But even I know trash when I hear it."

"I hate you."

"If that was true, you would never have brought me that bagel."

...

Returning home after aimlessly exploring the city with his traitorous friend, Ron walked into the apartment with a slight kick to his step. On their fun little adventure, James and him had found a comic book store and Ron wanted so badly to buy some comics, but held off until his next paycheck. Couldn't just go around and blow cash away. Expenses had to be organized and shuffled around, a lesson the sidekicks had learned and mastered over the few months.

Closing the door behind him, he's greeted with the sight pf Shego sprawled on the floor with her head resting between her crossed arms. She had this set glare in place, and not one Ron was used to seeing. She was angry, but not just angry, but faintly sad as well. He would ask, but the sidekick knew Shego talking about her emotions or what was eating at her was a challenging task. One the sidekick did not feel like trying to overcome.

Instead, Ron sat down, leaning on the wall with one leg out and the other leg in, "Hey, Shego. How was your day?"

"Boring," she rolls on her back.

Ron waited for something that was never gonna come, "Aren't you going to ask me how my day was?"

Her backwards glare turns into a smirk, "And why would I do something as pointless as that? That would give you the false impression that I care."

Ron gave Shego the briefest of pauses before giving up on cracking her tough exterior. He's too excited for the comic book store to simply put in the effort.

Getting up, he went to the mini fridge and retrieved a can of Dr. Salt, gulping down the sugary beverage in haste. Shego watched him drowned the drink, hating the normalcy in the act.

"Slow down, Stoppable, it's not going anywhere."

He tapped his stomach when he finished, "Yes it is! It's moving into its new home in my stomach. Population: one can. And it ordered the express delivery."

"Gah!" she mocked, eyes gleaming. "I would hate to move there. I heard the air taste stale and neighborhood's gone to the dogs."

Ron tossed the can into the trash, pretending to have skills in sports, "You couldn't afford it, anyways."

Fighting off a smile, she forces an impassive frown. This light banter was nice of theirs, but Shego didn't like how relaxed they were getting around each other. For one, they were enemies, plain and simple. Two, when they return back to their own world, this was all gonna stop. And three, getting comfortable around each other lowers a person's guard.

And she's not worried about the sidekick stabbing her in the back per se. Lord knows he's had many opportunities when she slept. More because she didn't want him to hesitate to fight back when they did return home after this crazy sitch was done with.

Whatever.

She's in no mood to puzzle over this now.

Jumping up, Shego checked a crummy calendar Ron had bought from the superstore. The theme all over the calendar was cheese and many flavors of said cheese. Somehow it hadn't surprised her when he revealed it to her the day he bought it.

Checking the day, her shoulders sagged, "Grab your towel, Stoppable. It's bath night."

Officially dubbed bath night occurred three times a week to save money. Tears and Such did a special where couples got in for the price of one. It had been a simple plan. Lie their way in and then sneak by and use the respected bathhouse by pretending to be a couple. Hardly difficult at all for people of their expertise and background when it came to being sneaky, even with the damn handicap holding them back.

Ron held back some laughter, "You still don't like going to Tears and Such?"

Shego huffed, "No. I. Don't. That creepy receptionist is always trying to get us to rent a private bathhouse." She pouts her lip at the thought, "I don't trust those rubber ducks of hers. I think she secretly records people."

He grinned, packing up some clothes, "That's because we make such a convincing couple. She's jealous the Ronman's taken."

She rolled her eyes, poking him in the chest, "Yea, okay, because you're Mr. Casanova."

"I got you a ring!"

"Oh! Pardon me! How could I forget? I'm just jumping for joy at the cheap plastic ring you got me in one of those random gumball machines," she deadpanned, putting on said cheap piece of plastic because somehow the fake turquoise gem fooled people. "Words cannot begin to describe what I'm feeling."

"You could try," he offered.

Shego tapped him on the chest, smirking, "Don't push your luck."

Throwing his bag of clothes over his shoulder, Ron went and opened the door for Shego with a mock salute. She punched him in the shoulder and pushed him out first for being stupid again. Shego really hated all that chivalry nonsense. Chivalry died out for a reason.

Walking in a strained silence, they eventually reached Tears and Such—a bathhouse that had a the finer decor of bubbles and squishy ducks for a opening—and the evil sidekick grimaced at the sight of the receptionist waving away her last pair of customers away. When she spotted the two sidekicks, her smile grew three times as big and made the Princess's sidekick look relatively normal in comparison.

Her name was Nozoki and Shego didn't trust her.

She was a pale thing with a soft jawline and raven hair that stuck out in all places despite the ponytail holding back a good chunk of it. She wore bright clothes that hurt Shego's eyes. Her eyes were pitch brown with a light hue and she wore one of those large circular glasses. A thin body frame and short height made her appear soft and non-menacing, but Shego knew better. In a way, she's their landlord's exact opposite. Even to the point where as his emotions remained guarded, hers were on display on the threads of her sleeve.

"Hey guys!" she waves to them and Ron returns it. Shego does nothing, "Bath night?"

"You bet!" Ron answers the obvious question. "Show me those cute rubber ducks!"

Humming to herself as she begins to grab them towels, Shego narrowed her eyes at the small gleam in Nozoki's eyes, catching the hidden pervert inside the meek girl. Any second now and she'll ask if Ron and her want to share some private bathhouse.

"So," Nozoki smiled too innocently. "Is today the day you're gonna get your own private room or is it regular again?"

Like clockwork.

"Nah!" the sidekick answers for them, waving away the disappointing tension. "We're good. Regular please!"

Sighing to herself, Shego saw Nozoki's cheeks huffed in an irritated blush at her plan being foiled yet again. But Shego knew she'll keep trying. She's a lot like Dr. Drakken in that aspect. Never knows when to give up even with the odds never in her favor.

Ever.

"Here are your towels," the pervert grumbled, handing them their towels. "Have a merry wash."

They thank her in their own special way—Ron saying the Pumpkin's annoying _please and thank you_ and Shego adding nothing as she swipes the towels off her perverted hands. And when they reach the couples' bathhouse, they stop to check if the coast is clear before sneaking off to their respected bathhouses. But not before Shego stops Ron and glares evilly at him in a worn out fashion.

"Remember, Stoppable. Don't let me catch you trying to steal a peek at me or I'll break that arm of yours."

Ron crosses his arms, "That goes double for you!"

"Don't flatter yourself, sidekick."

* * *

 **Author Notes:** There will be some crossovers elements to fill the void of some characters. So expect some familiar names and faces here and there unless you live under a rock.


End file.
